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Are these specific bathhouse that allow tattooes?

asdfasgasdgasdg 8y ago
I don't know if it's all that rare. My wife and I attended one in Asakusa on our last day in Japan and saw a couple of yakuza guys. (And she saw one of the woman yakuza on the women's side.) We didn't go looking for them, it was just the closest neighborhood bath house to the shrine. The other bath house I went to, the one at the bottom of Mt. Takao, did not allow any tattoos. But it was much larger and more commercial.
lovemenot 8y ago
True. Most do not allow tattoos. I have never seen any other gangs at this sento, which is located not too far from Kabukicho. My guess is that it's a private arrangement between the owner and this boss. It would presumably only be a problem if another gang showed up. But the tinted-window black limo with driver outside is a pretty good clue of who is inside.
mikekchar 8y ago
I've seen an obvious yakuza in the onsen near where I live -- though only once. I stayed well away from him, as did everyone else. Sometimes even if a bathhouse has a no-tattoo policy you can get special permission. You need to know who and how to ask. I have found that this is generally true in Japan. It seems reasonable to me that at some places a yakuza could get permission to bathe at a non-busy time. Incidentally, I have been told that there used to be a fairly powerful yakuza clan in Fujieda city (a few towns over from where I live). There used to be a sumo jungyo (unofficial tournament) held there every year and I was told that it was done as a favour to the resident yakuza head. After the crackdown on yakuza involvement in sumo, they cancelled the jungyo, lending at least some credibility to the story. I also heard that sometime about 2010 something happened and the yakuza clan in Fujieda is no more. My friend who told me did not want to elaborate. When I first moved here in 2007, I would occasionally see a couple of guys hanging out at the beach -- pretty obvious: dressed in suits even though it was 35C, with their tattoo sleeves just peeking out from underneath their coats. They would just stand there for hours. I don't know what they were doing (the beach where I live is almost always empty). Haven't seen any of these guys for years and years, though.
nicolas_t 8y ago
I used to go to a bathhouse in Kyoto that explicitly allowed tattoos. The man at the entrance even had a long snake tattoo on his arm... The bathhouse was rather nice though and while some of the customers were obviously affiliated with yakuza they were rather friendly and we would greet each other after I had been there a few times.
audiometry 8y ago
Back before it was massively renovated (mid 2000's?) there was a sento in Tokyo Station. It was called 'Tokyo Kur' I think. I visited probably five times and every time would see at least one wrinkled old man covered in tattoos like that. Sadly that sento is long-gone.
- lovemenot 8y ago
  If you're looking for an alternative, some on this list are pretty good. https://www.1010.or.jp/english/sento-location/ https://www.1010.or.jp/english/sento-location/ The domain name is a pun in Japanese.

I don't know if it's all that rare. My wife and I attended one in Asakusa on our last day in Japan and saw a couple of yakuza guys. (And she saw one of the woman yakuza on the women's side.) We didn't go looking for them, it was just the closest neighborhood bath house to the shrine. The other bath house I went to, the one at the bottom of Mt. Takao, did not allow any tattoos. But it was much larger and more commercial.

lovemenot 8y ago

True. Most do not allow tattoos. I have never seen any other gangs at this sento, which is located not too far from Kabukicho. My guess is that it's a private arrangement between the owner and this boss. It would presumably only be a problem if another gang showed up. But the tinted-window black limo with driver outside is a pretty good clue of who is inside.

mikekchar 8y ago

I've seen an obvious yakuza in the onsen near where I live -- though only once. I stayed well away from him, as did everyone else. Sometimes even if a bathhouse has a no-tattoo policy you can get special permission. You need to know who and how to ask. I have found that this is generally true in Japan. It seems reasonable to me that at some places a yakuza could get permission to bathe at a non-busy time. Incidentally, I have been told that there used to be a fairly powerful yakuza clan in Fujieda city (a few towns over from where I live). There used to be a sumo jungyo (unofficial tournament) held there every year and I was told that it was done as a favour to the resident yakuza head. After the crackdown on yakuza involvement in sumo, they cancelled the jungyo, lending at least some credibility to the story. I also heard that sometime about 2010 something happened and the yakuza clan in Fujieda is no more. My friend who told me did not want to elaborate. When I first moved here in 2007, I would occasionally see a couple of guys hanging out at the beach -- pretty obvious: dressed in suits even though it was 35C, with their tattoo sleeves just peeking out from underneath their coats. They would just stand there for hours. I don't know what they were doing (the beach where I live is almost always empty). Haven't seen any of these guys for years and years, though.

nicolas_t 8y ago

I used to go to a bathhouse in Kyoto that explicitly allowed tattoos. The man at the entrance even had a long snake tattoo on his arm... The bathhouse was rather nice though and while some of the customers were obviously affiliated with yakuza they were rather friendly and we would greet each other after I had been there a few times.

audiometry 8y ago

Back before it was massively renovated (mid 2000's?) there was a sento in Tokyo Station. It was called 'Tokyo Kur' I think. I visited probably five times and every time would see at least one wrinkled old man covered in tattoos like that. Sadly that sento is long-gone.

lovemenot 8y ago
If you're looking for an alternative, some on this list are pretty good. https://www.1010.or.jp/english/sento-location/ https://www.1010.or.jp/english/sento-location/ The domain name is a pun in Japanese.